Thursday, June 20, 2013

A Town Held Hostage

In 1946, a hooded assailant terrorized
the community of Texarkana, Arkansas, killing five people. He was
never caught.

I guess I should begin by saying that I
previously did not know this film was based on actual events. I find
it strange that this “Phantom Killer” is not more widely known,
considering he not only evaded capture, but his crimes predate even
Ed Gein's, who is widely considered to be the first “modern”
serial killer. Even more disconcerting is that The Phantom's modus
operandi shared similarities to both The Zodiac Killer and Son of Sam,
which makes me wonder if there isn't some sort of secret serial killer
handbook out there somewhere.

The reason I emphasize the true crime
aspect is I feel it caused the filmmakers some confusion
about what kind of film they wanted to make. The Town That Dreaded
Sundown is a weird hybrid of a crime film and straight-up
documentary. A scene would open with a narrator announcing the date
and names of the victims, but then play out with standard storytelling methods.
It was a little bewildering, but no more than the uneven tone. I wonder if the inclusion of the keystone cops comic relief was director Charles B. Pierce's attempt to emulate Wes
Craven's Last House On The Left, released a few years earlier. Unfortunately, it was even more out of place here, as The Town That Dreaded Sundown reaches Dukes of Hazzard levels of
goofiness.

Director Charles B. Pierce as Rosco Patrolman Benson.

That said, there were moments where the film seemed ahead of its time, as the actual murder set pieces were very well
executed. I was especially surprised by how much the style - and I wager a lot of the credit needs to go to cinematographer James W. Roberson for this - resembled that of the American slasher genre, considering it had yet
to be invented – or at least popularized. I can only imagine how alarming it must have been to see Dawn Wells (Mary Ann from TV's Gilligan's
Island) get shot in the face (twice!) back in '76. Though the shock
factor may be dulled now, that whole sequence still plays as well as
it ever did.

The other thing I feel I have to
mention is the batshit crazy “trombone scene”. While I was watching it unfold, I was thinking “this
actually happened? It must have because no one could ever make this shit up.”

Well, it didn't happen. And they made it up. So, were they
trying to be funny? If so, I must
have been sick the day they covered that kind of black comedy in
school. For me, it is just one more odd decision made by the filmmakers.
However, it is one of the few things the film is remembered for, so
hey, I guess he's a genius.

All in all, The Town That Dreaded
Sundown has its moments, but I'd say its uneven tone and structure is
probably what kept it from becoming as iconic as some of its
American contemporaries like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the
aforementioned Last House On The Left.